Festive holiday brings little joy for quake victims

Saima, eight, listlessly holds the doll she has just received as a gift as she sits beside her aunt in their tent. Even though the doll is the first toy she has played with in days, it seems to do nothing to bring a smile to her face. The doll, the child says, reminds her of the two sisters killed in the earthquake and of her mother, lying injured in a Rawalpindi hospital, close to the federal capital, Islamabad. "Of course we are grateful for these gifts," says her aunt, Nudrat Bibi, gesturing towards the small heap of glittering bangles and a box of sweets that lies in a corner. "But the presents also make us sad because they remind us of past festive occasions we spent with our whole families, in our own home." Eid ul-Fitr, the most important festival on the Muslim calendar, fell on Friday. To try and bring some cheer into the lives of the millions affected by the quake, charities, NGOs and the Pakistani government had arranged for gifts to be distributed, bangles to be handed out and for the hands of young girls to be painted with henna, as is the tradition. The Eid holiday marks the end of Ramadan – the holy month of fasting - and is usually marked by feasts and family celebrations that continue for days. But this year, across Pakistan, the holiday has been a subdued one following the quake that has killed at least 73,000 people in Pakistan. With the government urging people not to spend lavishly on celebrations and instead make donations for quake relief work, the occasion has refocused attention on the victims, many of whom are still without shelter. In the more inaccessible villages of the Neelum and Jelum valleys in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, many indeed have still to receive any outside help at all. "The situation really makes one wonder how these people will survive in the coming days. The conditions in the camps are miserable, as there is no sanitation and disease is already rampaging in these conditions," said volunteer Dr Khalid Ahmed, whose three children had also come up to Balakot from Karachi, the country's largest city, to mark Eid with the victims. Many others, including film stars, sports heroes and politicians have done the same, as a gesture of solidarity with the victims. But there are doubts over how long the compassion will last. People are asking how many days it will be before donor fatigue sets in and the victims are left isolated through the icy winter that is creeping down the mountains in the north. "People are of course returning to their ordinary lives. No one can volunteer indefinitely and in the months ahead, it is the role of the government and the bigger international relief agencies that will be crucial," said Yasir Hameed, working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Balakot and the Mansehra area. Acute handicaps remain in the way of providing relief. Large tracts in the mountains are still beyond reach. While mules, human porters who carry supplies on their backs and helicopters are all being used, aid has still to reach thousands. Many more beg for shelter one month after the quake and the World Health Organization (WHO) has renewed its warnings that many more will die over the coming weeks if they are not provided with tents or other housing. Pakistan's President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, in a desperate plea for more help on Friday, has criticised the West for failing to provide sufficient assistance. The United Nations has reiterated appeals for more funds. Even where camps have been set up, living conditions are often miserable. Poor hygiene is contributing to the spread of disease, and aid workers say children have "begun to die every day from cold, malnutrition and disease" in areas such as the Allai Valley. As the focus shifts to survival, villagers across the affected area are contemplating whether or not to abandon their homes and move down from the mountains – to wherever they can find help. Many are beginning to panic as winter hovers threateningly just days away and the aid they had expected simply hasn’t arrived, in many cases. "We are leaving. We don't know where to go, but we will see what fate brings," said Rashid Shah, driving down the road from Bana in Allai with his wife and five children. Lumpy bundles, containing what belongings they have been able to salvage from their collapsed house, are crammed into the small van they occupy. Others simply do not have the resources to move away. All through Friday, thoughts were not on festivities, but on the need to quickly build whatever shelters they can, salvaging materials from the piles of rubble that were once homes, and attempting to assemble them into shacks that can protect victims from the worst of the snows and winds that still lie ahead.